The Fic War Prompt: Brittany, on a break from MIT, surprise visits Santana in NYC, only to find Santana has some lady company in her bed. Santana opens the door and sees Brittany. Brittany: Surprise! with a big grin. Santana: big smile back and gives her a huge hug. Santana is about to ask Brittany why she's in NY and Voice from Santana's bedroom: Santana? Come back to bed!
Santana stood a little closer than necessary to the open refrigerator, enjoying the coolness on her skin as she caught her breath. She shook her head at the organic juices with little gold star stickers on them that cluttered the top shelf, forcing her to cradle a few in her left arm to make a path to one of her bottles of water in the back. She dropped her water bottle trying to replace some pomegranate-acai-something-or-other and cursed under her breath. She was going to have to talk to Berry about this when she and Hummel got back from their gaycation on Fire Island.
Santana shut the fridge and gracefully swooped down to pick up the fallen bottle, and heard a faint knock. Unsure if she was hearing things, she took a tentative step towards the door. When she heard louder, clearer knocking, she wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead and straightened out the oversized t-shirt she had thrown on to be sure it covered her underwear. She looked down at her bare legs, wondering if she should put on shorts before answering the door, but shrugged and decided against it. She grabbed the handle of the heavy loft door and slid it open.
Brittany stood at the door of the loft Santana, Rachel and Kurt shared and took a deep breath. She was excited but nervous to see Santana again. It had been a few months since they'd seen each other in person, and their phone conversations and skype calls had become more infrequent. She missed her best friend and wanted to show her that the four and a half hours between Boston and New York weren't enough to come between their friendship. And Brittany would be lying to herself if she didn't admit she was considering asking Santana to toy with the idea of being girlfriends again, but wanted to do it in person. Most of all, Brittany wanted to see what Santana's life was like here in New York, she wanted to make sure Santana was happy, with or without her.
She knocked gently on the door, and panic immediately ran through her, though she wasn't sure why. I should have called first. What if she's not even home? When no one came to the door, her heart beat faster. What if she doesn't even WANT to see me? Brittany shook her head. Don't be stupid. And stop panicking. It's just Santana. That didn't seem to slow her heart down at all, but it gave her a little burst of confidence and she knocked again, harder this time. She felt a little lightheaded when the door slid open and there stood her ex-girlfriend, hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, face flushed, looking as gorgeous as she ever had. Brittany felt her face turn red as she smiled reflexively. "Surprise?" the blonde said, suddenly embarrassed.
"Brittany!" Santana's eyes grew wide, her smile wider. She threw her arms around Brittany, knocking them both back into the hallway. The hug lingered and Brittany held on tight, not wanting it to end. Santana stepped back and looked at Brittany, studying her face, as if she couldn't believe she was standing right in front of her. Brittany looked at the water bottle in Santana's hand.
"Oh, were you working out? I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Then her eyes drifted lower and she saw that Santana wasn't wearing any pants under the big t-shirt she had on. Suddenly, a voice floated into the hallway from somewhere deep inside the loft, "San? Are you coming back to bed? I thought we were going to make this another two-time thing!"
Brittany felt a lump start to form in her throat. She swallowed over it and asked, with as much coolness as she could muster, "Is that Quinn?"
Santana's heart stopped. The first girl she ever loved was standing in front of her and the last girl she slept with was still currently in her bed. She could almost laugh. Who would have thought the three of them would ever be in this position, almost five years since they met. But she can't laugh. Not when she sees Brittany's eyes filling up with tears. "Britt, I'm so-"
"No, I'm sorry. I should have called first." Her voice was quiet, sad. Every word stabbed Santana in the chest. The blonde started to turn, "I should go."
"Britt, where are you going?" Santana put her hand on Brittany's arm to stop her from leaving.
"I just need some air."
"Fine, but don't jump on the next bus next to Boston. I'll call you when Quinn's gone and we can talk, okay?" Brittany's eyes were glued to the floor, but she nodded slightly. Santana tugged on Brittany's arm and dipped her head to try to meet Brittany's eyes. When she finally locked her own brown eyes with the blonde's blue ones, shining with tears, she squeezed Brittany's arm. "Okay?"
Brittany exhaled and nodded more firmly, "Okay."
When Santana let go of her arm, Brittany walked down the hallway and away from the loft without looking back. She didn't blink or breathe or think anything until she reached a park on the corner and flung her backpack on a bench and herself down next to it. The events of the past five minutes all rushed over her at once as she pulled her knees up to her chest, put her head down and cried. She wasn't even sure why she was crying. On the bus ride from MIT, she had been over countless scenarios in her head of what would happen when she arrived at Santana's door, and in at least half of them there was a girl in her bed. But seeing Santana's face when she opened that door had thrown away any preparation. It was just her and Santana, like it had been so many times before.
At first, the intrusion of Quinn's voice hadn't seemed weird. Her, Santana and Quinn were practically inseparable for the first few years of high school. But between her words and Santana's outfit, or lack thereof, the pieces of the puzzle fit together and Brittany felt like an idiot. Santana and Brittany had gotten to a comfortable place in their friendship, a place where Santana would often tell her about dates with dance instructors or which fellow Coyote Ugly bartenders she went home with. None of that really bothered Brittany, not like this did.
Brittany slid her backpack to the edge of the bench and stretched out, using it as a pillow. She tapped out a quick text to Santana telling her she was in the park and tucked her phone back into her backpack, keeping it on silent. She closed her eyes and let the mid-afternoon sun warm her face and dry the tears left on her cheeks.
Santana sighed as she closed the loft door and headed back towards her room. She placed the water bottle on the nightstand and flopped backwards onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out if that had really just happened or if she was in a really messed up dream. Reality hit her in the form of a kiss pressed into her shoulder by the beautiful blonde wrapped up in her sheets. Quinn snaked her arm across the torso of her incredibly fit friend. "Is everything okay?" Santana considered lying to the former head cheerleader, but thought better of it.
"Brittany was just at the door."
"Brittany, Brittany?"
"The very one."
"What is she doing in New York?"
"She came to visit me, I guess. Not a very good week for surprise visits, is it?"
"It's not my fault Rachel didn't tell me she was going to Fire Island this weekend last time I talked to her! My friend told me she was headed to the city and next thing I knew I was on a train."
"Hey, chill out, Fabray. I'm not complaining." Santana leaned over and kissed Quinn, tasting her own lipgloss on her friend's lips. When they separated, Quinn's contented smile suddenly faded and her eyes grew wide.
"Did Brittany hear me?"
"Yeah, she's...taking a walk. I don't want to leave her alone too long, she's too kindhearted to be wandering the streets of New York by herself."
"God forbid she sees that homeless man with the dog. She'll give him everything she has."
Santana laughed, easily able to picture the scenario. "I better hurry up, then."
Santana let out a sigh, but didn't move, enjoying the feeling of Quinn's arm around her. What she and Quinn had was simple, uncomplicated. Sex with no strings, but a basis of friendship. Similar to what she used to pretend was all she and Brittany had, but with Quinn, neither of them were lying when they said it was nothing more.
"San?" Quinn propped herself up on her elbow to look at the brunette.
"Mmm?"
"Can you make sure Britt doesn't say anything about this to Rachel? That I was here in New York...that I was..."
"Sure, Q. I'll keep you my dirty little secret." She playfully shoved Quinn and watched her fall onto her back as she climbed out of bed. She paused at the bathroom door and turned back to her friend. "I'm going to take a shower and then go find Brittany."
Quinn sat up on the bed, letting the sheet fall around her waist, exposing her bare breasts. Santana smiled. She'd never get sick of that sight. Quinn smirked and asked huskily, "Do you want some company?"
Santana let a low growl escape, "Who would say no to that?" Quinn got up and the two girls laughed as they went into the bathroom and closed the door.
Brittany still had her eyes closed when she heard Santana say her name. She sat up, squinting, her eyes adjusting to the sunlight. Santana sat down next to her and gave her a small smile. "Have a nice nap?"
Brittany smiled back, "I guess I can cross 'sleep on a New York City park bench' off my 'things to do before the end of the world' list."
"You mean your bucket list?"
"Well I keep mine on my phone, not in a bucket..."
"Nevermind," Santana said, chuckling. "I can't believe you're really here, in New York."
"Me, either." As the fog from her nap faded away, Brittany remembered what happened earlier and her smile disappeared. "Where's Quinn?"
"She had come on the train from Connecticut with a friend who was coming to visit her sister, so she went to stay with them. She showed up this morning to surprise Rachel, but Berry forgot to tell her she was going to be out of town for the weekend."
"So you two aren't together together?"
"Me and Fabray? No, it's just...just something that seems to happen when we're both single and alone with a bed in the general area." Brittany relaxed a little, her brow unfurrowed a bit. "Britt, did you think we were secretly dating?"
"I didn't know what to think, San. I heard her voice from your bedroom and I couldn't help but think, if you could be with her while she's in Connecticut, why couldn't you be with me?" Brittany suddenly burst into tears. It surprised her as much as it seemed to surprise Santana, who quickly wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her back.
"Hey, B, it's okay. Shh, it's okay." When Brittany's breath began to fall evenly again, she took Brittany's face in her hands, wiping away tears with her thumbs. She planted a small kiss on her nose and said, "Why don't we go back to the loft and talk, okay?"
Brittany sniffled and nodded, not trusting her voice not to break if she spoke. She wasn't expecting to get this emotional, but seeing Santana again brought back so many feelings, it was hard to tell if it was phantom pain she was experiencing or something more. She put her backpack on and followed Santana back to the loft.
Santana closed the door and watched Brittany survey the loft for the first time, her thumbs looped around her backpack straps. She hated the awkward silence between them. It felt wrong, unfamiliar. She motioned to the couch, "You can put your bag anywhere. Do you want something to drink?" Brittany shook her head and placed her backpack on the couch, but remained standing.
"I'm sorry I cried," Brittany said, more to her feet than anything.
The side of Santana's mouth curled up in a half-smile. "I made you cry, and you're apologizing to me? You really are a unicorn, Brittany."
Brittany smiled and Santana moved towards her, taking her hand and sitting them both down on the couch, hands clasped together. "I thought we were doing okay, Britt. I thought we finally had this friends-only thing down pat."
"We did! We do. I don't know what came over me. I think I had too much time to imagine on the bus."
"Imagine what?"
"Imagine us. Together. Like before."
Santana let herself, just for a moment, imagine it. Old feelings came rushing through her like a jolt of electricity. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned in and kissed Brittany. Brittany hesitated for a moment, but then kissed her back. Their kisses were hungry, passionate. Long overdue. It felt new and comfortable at the same time. Santana put her hands on Brittany's back, pulling her closer, holding her tighter. Suddenly nothing else mattered, not the past, not the future. All that mattered was that Brittany was in her arms again, right here, right now. She pulled back from the kiss and looked into Brittany's eyes, glittering blue, and smiled a mischievous smile. Without saying a word she stood and pulled Brittany up with her, taking her hand, and led her into the bedroom.